The usual methods of preparing a laminated panel structure are slow and expensive. Layers of material are laid up by hand in a mandrel which is then placed in an autoclave for a considerable length of time to effect a cured laminate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,056,440 to Mello, plywood was made in a continuous process using a two drum press with each drum of a plurality of pneumatically inflated tires placed coaxially side by side and having laterally extending metal bars on the outer tread that are electrically heated when in contact with the plywood.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,968 shows a press for curing conveyor belt ends using a pair of platens with a plurality of U-shaped cross-members joined at the ends and each having a rubber hose in the U-member to apply pressure to the platens. A conveyorized system was discovered that will continuously form an elongated composite laminate.